


Going To CardStock

by YetAnother



Category: Card Hunter (Video Game)
Genre: Bullying, First Time Blow Jobs, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Melodrama, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:27:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29674884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YetAnother/pseuds/YetAnother
Summary: You, Gary, Karen, and Melvin are finally going to CardStock, the biggest Card Hunter event of the year! But things get a bit dicey when old faces from your past show up to ruin your fun. Can you keep your friends, win the tourney, and maybe even fall in love?
Relationships: Karen/Gary, Melvin/Reader
Kudos: 2





	Going To CardStock

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a hot minute since I posted somethin', but I did promise a Reader/Melvin. Truthfully, this has been done for a while, but I didn't post it 'cuz I wasn't 100% happy with it, but reading it now with a fresh perspective, it's perfectly fine, if still a little melodramatic. And hey, nobody is in this tag, so who cares?

"We did it!" Gary cheers. "We got the two tickets! We can go to CardStock together, Karen!" He jumps up and down in his excitement before hugging Karen. It's sweet. Except for, uh, one sorta major thing.

"Well, I guess I'll go fuck myself then." You say, shrugging as you keep your most stoic face on.

It's like the entire moment comes crashing down. If there was music playing, it definitely would have stopped with the sound of a record scratch. All three of them, Karen, Melvin, and Gary look to you. Gary looks embarrassed, as though he forgot you even existed.

You suppose it's your own fault, you've never really spoken much. Gary always assumed you were kinda naive because of that. Truth is, you just never had much to say, but now it feels kinda preposterous to just stay quiet. You just powered through a whole campaign to take Melvin's tickets, and Gary doesn't even think to _ask_ if you want to go to CardStock? Sure, you want Gary to get his happy ending, but to be shoved aside for his love interest without him even asking? Feels bad, man.

"I mean," You continue on, now that you have the room's entire attention. "It's not like I just spent all of my free time down here in this basement, no bathroom breaks, rushing through a campaign I would've liked to have taken slow and enjoyed, with nothing but warm soda and cold pizza to keep me going. Pizza that's not even the kind I like," You clarify, giving the half-empty box of wasabi and coconut-encrusted chicken topped pizza a disgusted glance, "It's not like I had homework to do, or a job to go to that I skipped and will now get in trouble for." You're making the sarcasm extra thick, because Gary can be a really dense boy. "It's not like I wanted to go to CardStock, it's not like I love Card Hunter too. It's not like I wanna go on a road trip with my best friend to the biggest Card Hunter tournament around." You shrug again, trying to keep your voice even, but it's warbling a little, a sign you might start crying and oh man you would just hate that. "It's whatever, I guess."

"Oh." Is all Gary says, a look on his face that basically reads Oh-Shit-I-Really-Just-Forgot-About-My-Best-Friend-Like-Some-Kind-Of-Asshole. "Oh I... Oh shit." You never really hear Gary swear, especially not in front of Melvin, but this is a pretty big deal. "I'm sorry Matt, I... I guess I just got so caught up in all of this, and how bad I felt about Karen losing her job, I just sort of... I guess I just zoned in on getting her a ticket too much."

"Karen lost her job because she ditched it to hang with us." You say. You turn to her, "I'm sorry Karen but you are just completely irresponsible."

"I get it." She says, nodding. "I was totally irresponsible. You can keep the ticket, I'll stick to my job from now on and make it next year."

"No, Karen, you can take mine and go with Matt!" Gary says. "I'm the jerk in all of this, I didn't even let Matt get a word in edgewise."

You chuckle a little bit, and to your relief it doesn't sound watery like you feared it would. "Actually, about that. You really should've let me speak instead of steamrolling over me every time I tried to talk, because, uh..." You reach into your backpack by your side and pull out two tickets. "I already got us tickets to CardStock like a month ago, Gary."

The room is dead silent after that. It feels like it stretches on forever. "Why didn't you tell me?" Gary whispers, staring at the tickets as if they held the key to understanding the universe.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." You smile a little at Gary. "The first time Melvin offered us a ticket, I thought it would be fun to win it, so I didn't say anything, then when Karen lost her chance to buy one, I though, oh, good thing we got that ticket, but then Melvin offered us another one. Then you started panicking and pushing me through the campaign, and every time I tried to speak you'd start talking over me, so I just sorta gave up. You can be kinda an ass, Gary." You grin briefly, but then it disappears. "Then when we get it, you don't even think to ask me if we can give it away. I was going to say yes, and then reveal I already had tickets so we could plan a big cool road trip, but then you just totally skipped over me. It hurts, man."

"I'm sorry." Gary says, "You must think I'm the biggest jerk in the world."

"Not in the world." You say, "But probably in this room right now." You smile at him to let him know you're joking. But not really, that was a pretty jerk move. "Of course, I'm feeling like a bit of a jerk too. We took both of Melvin's tickets, and I know how much it means to him to go." You turn to Melvin. You never really had a beef with him. Yeah, he's a rules lord and something of an egotistical, stuck-up snob, but whenever he'd compliment you (usually while insulting Gary) it'd make you feel nice inside. "So, Melvin, would you like to take my second ticket and go to CardStock with me?"

He's looking at you strangely, as though he doesn't understand why anybody would show him this kind of kindness, as if he doesn't trust it. "No strings?" He asks.

"Well, just that you'll drive all of us. I'm sure you've already set gas money aside for the trip, and I've already booked a hotel room. I'm sure between the two of us we can afford this whole thing." You have been planning this for as long as you've known about CardStock, taking on extra shifts at the arcade (where you're probably about to lose your job), and you've got quite the vacation fund put aside. "It's not a whole lot more than you were going to pay for just yourself."

He doesn't smile at this. If there's one thing about Melvin that you've noticed, it's that he doesn't ever just smile, not really. He smirks and sometimes he grins, but it's usually malicious. You don't think he knows how to react to something like this. Just someone being nice to him. It kind of makes you sad.

"Alright." He finally says, scratching at his chin. "Thanks, I guess." You hand him a ticket and he takes it, staring at it as if it were an illusion of some kind.

"Well, I guess everything worked out." You say, shrugging. "But it still kinda stings, I guess-"

"Matthew, sweetie!" Gary's mom calls from the top of the stairs. "Your parents have called, it's getting awfully late and they're worried about you. I think they'd like you to come home now."

"Yeah, worried." You mutter under your breath, gritting your teeth. You sigh and change back into a normal volume. "Guess that's my call, I'll see you guys again next week, when it's time to head out to CardStock."

"You're not coming back tomorrow?" Gary asks, a worried look on his face. He probably thinks he fucked up your friendship.

"I'm about to get grounded." You say, laughing a little, though there's no happiness in that laugh. "I'll see you at school though, and we can talk then." You wink and give the group a two finger salute. "See ya."

They all kind of wave at you and say little 'goodbye's as you pick up your bag and head out.

You got grounded, you got fired, and you have a few more bruises to hide under all your baggy clothing, but you're packed up and heading to CardStock, and that's all that matters. Things have healed between you and Gary, you can't stay mad at that dopey love-struck boy, and you are excited to spend the first week of summer out of town, away from your parents and everything else that makes you ache.

Melvin is the one who answers the door when you ring. He stares at you. "You look like you did when I first saw you." He says, obviously refering to the now fading black eye on your face.

Yep, couldn't hide that with your clothes. "Handsome, I know. I always look like that." You skirt around the unsaid question with self-praise. You can't believe he remembers that, to be honest. You don't think he looked at you for more than two seconds when you first met.

He decides to drop the subject. "Karen is already here, I guess we can head out now."

Gary's mom is crowding the four of you as you pile into Melvin's car; saying her goodbyes and telling you all to have a safe trip. She eyes your black eye with a grim look, but this is far from the first one she's seen on you and by now she knows not to ask. Instead she kisses you on the forehead and it feels so nice you almost kinda wanna cry.

Karen has never seen you with a black eye before, though. She gawks at you when she sees it. "Matt, are you okay? What happened?"

Oh joy. Your favorite question. "Craziest thing, I was walking home from school last week when I was beset by minature pirates. Cannonball got me right in the eye, but in the end I stomped out their tiny pirate ship and was declared the true dread of the seven seas." They're all looking at you like you grew a second head. "True story, I tried to take one of their eyepatches, but it was way too small. It's fine, I like the black eye. Makes me look masculine, don'tcha think?" You flex and pose like a bodybuilder, but the outcome isn't quite the same when you're a scrawny nerd.

"You could've just said you didn't want to talk about it..." She mumbles as she slides into the back seat with Gary.

"Nobody takes that excuse unless you tell them something outrageous first." You say. You know this from experience. You take the front seat, and Melvin sits in the driver's seat. Everybody buckles in and then you're off.

The drive is, thankfully, not awkward. The general mood is easy-going, and the excitement in the car builds the closer you guys get to CardStock. It's a long drive, past state lines, but you all were expecting that. You even set out a whole two days early, in case the drive took longer than one day. A couple restaurant hits and one quick gas-up is enough to keep everyone fed and feeling fine.

When the hotel you booked a room for finally comes into view, you point it out with a big grin, and the car cheers. When the car is parked and you can finally get out to stretch your legs, it's like true bliss.

You make it to check-in where they scrutinize you pretty harshly. Even after providing ID the receptionist still gives you a side-look, as if she couldn't believe someone your age could afford a room at her moderately priced hotel. You're almost afraid she's gonna call it a fake despite it being real, but instead she hands it back along with your key.

"Enjoy your stay." She says in a way that definitely sounds like she does not want you to enjoy your stay.

Still, you give her a two-fingered salute and press on, finding your room and opening the door and then very suddenly realizing a problem you hadn't thought of before.

Karen pushes past you to flop onto a bed. "Dibs." She calls. Then Melvin walks in and sits on the other one, not saying anything but still claiming a 'dibs' in his own way.. Then Gary walks in, looks at the two occupied beds, and sits on the couch.

"Guess I'll take the couch then." He states, shrugging.

You walk in just enough to close the door behind you. "Guess I'll sleep in the bathtub." You say, looking at each already-taken sleeping place.

"Uh." Gary starts, most eloquently, but there's nothing to finish it with.

"Oh, Matthew!" Karen exclaims. "No, you should take the bed, it's your room. I'll sleep on the floor. As long as I get a pillow I'll be fine." She gets up to offer you the bed.

"No!" Says Gary. "Karen, you can take the couch, and I'll take the floor. I deserve it for being such a jerk to Matt anyways."

You shake your head. "You two are a couple, just sleep in the same bed and I'll take the couch." The reaction is instant, all three responding to the idea at the same time.

"Wh-wh-what! N-no, I c-can't!" Says Gary, blushing to the high heavens.

"Oh, that is so not happening." States Melvin.

"Sounds great!" Says Karen, smiling.

You can't help your snort of amusement. "Alright then. So is it a no because it's co-ed, or is bed sharing, even between two dudes, out?"

Gary shrugs slightly. "We can share a bed, Matt." You're not proud of how your heart jumps at hearing that, and you stamp it back down into your chest where it belongs. Then you stamp it a little farther for daring to think anything like that about Gary. It's not happening. It was never happening. It'll never happen.

And you don't feel bad about that. Gary is cute, sure, but he's got Karen and you're happy for him. Besides, you have more of a thing for his brother.

And now you're stomping your heart into your stomach, because it's not allowed to think that right now either. Just clear your mind, stop thinking anything weird, and focus back in on the moment.

The room is quiet, you think it might've been a while since Gary stated he's willing to share a bed with you, and you just fucking zoned out like a dumbass. "Sounds good." You finally say. "Enjoy your couch, Karen."

"I love a good couch!" She exclaims, jumping over the back of the couch to land on the middle seat, then stretching out on it. "There's just something so rad about sleeping on one. I don't know what it is."

"It's good up until it kills your back." Melvin states, nodding wistfully. He kicks off his shoes and lays back on his bed, not yet bothering to get under the covers. Just relaxing.

The atmosphere is chill, as it should be. So far from home, you finally feel at peace.

Breathe now, it's easy.

It's a little funny to be sharing a bed with a boy again. Laying there in the dark, sleeping on your side, staring at the back of his head as you consider your freindship. You can't help but wonder if he'd be so calm with it if he knew you were gay, or if he'd react like your old best friend did. Oh, now your heart hurts. You hold your hand over your chest and sigh deeply into the quiet stillness of the night.

"Still awake?" Half-whispers a voice behind you. Melvin. Apparently he's also awake.

You turn over to face him, and he's laying on his side looking at you. "Yeah." You mumble. "I thought it'd be easy to get to sleep here, but..."

"Hotel rooms are hard to sleep in, I know."

"I have sleeeping problems anyways, but I always thought it was because... Well, I just don't much like sleeping in my own house." The 'I never felt safe there' goes unsaid.

He's silent for a moment. "You're being abused, aren't you?"

Your reaction is instant, and loud, "No! I'm not-"

"Matthew..." Gary grumbles half-asleep from behind you. "Shut up." He flops over just to push you slightly, before grabbing his pillow and covering his head with it.

Melvin sits up in his bed and scoots to the side, leaving room for you to sit before motioning for you to come over. You do so, sitting on his bed over the covers.

"You don't have to lie to me, Matt." He says. "I'm not oblivious like Gary, it's pretty obvious you're being abused."

You're quiet for a long while. "Yeah." It's the first time you've told anybody, ever said it out loud, really. Melvins not the first to figure it out, but you've always denied it. It feels... Weird to tell somebody. Tears are building in the corners of your eyes, and you're helpless to stop them. "Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't." He promises. "… Are you gonna move away this summer? Now that you've graduated?"

You want to, you've thought about it so much. Now that you're finally 18 and you've graduated high school, nothing is holding you back from getting away from your parents. "I'm hoping to. To be honest, I've considered not going back at the end of this trip. Why do you ask?" You never thought Melvin would care if you were there or not.

"… Would make Gary sad if you went away. You're his best friend."

Ah, of course, the one thing keeping you from packing up and running as far away as you can. "He's gotta have plans himself though. A college he's interested in going to?"

"He hasn't told you? I thought you two would be planning to go to the same college."

"Any time I've brought up college he freezes up and changes the subject. I've been considering trade school, to be honest." You shrug. You were considering college for a while, but with Gary being avoidant to the subject, it dropped out of your mind. You'd rather work with your hands anyways, you think.

"That sounds like Gary. I don't think he's thought about his future at all." It's silent for a long while. Your eyes start to droop. "I'm sorry, by the way."

"For what?"

"Bringing it up. Seems like it upset you."

"… Yeah."

"Were you serious? About staying here after the trip?"

"Yeah."

"What about your stuff back at home?"

You snort a little. "Actually... I brought pretty much everything important to me. I don't... Own a lot of stuff. I've been saving my money instead, and I brought those savings. All the money to my name is in my duffle."

He almost looks impressed. "You really thought this through." Then, his eyebrows furrow. "You can pack your whole life into one duffle bag and one rolling suitcase?"

You shrug. "I stopped buying things when I discovered that my items seem to have a disturbing tendency to 'accidentally break' or 'disappear'." Accident your ass. It's one thing for them to take away things they bought for you, it's a whole other to steal the stuff you buy yourself. That's when you started hiding your money too.

There's a grimace on his face. "You shouldn't go home."

"Heh, nice to see you understand. I hope Gary will too." It'll be hard starting a new life... Again. You'll make it work though, and who knows? Maybe you'll be able to meet up at the next CardStock.

"That's not to say you should stay here." Melvin shakes his head. "You should come home with us."

"I can't just move into your house and become your mom's third son. I'm an adult now and life doesn't work that way."

"She knows too, you know." You're taken aback by that. "That's why she frets over you. She doesn't say anything because she doesn't want to hurt you, but... You could pay rent. Move into the basement."

"God knows I spend enough time there I should be paying rent already." But that brings up a question for you. "Why haven't you moved out, Melvin?"

He's quiet. There's that look on his face, like when he remembers how he was cheated out of his victory last CardStock. "It's late. We should go to bed now, Matthew."

Maybe somebody else would prod, but you don't. You know there's some things not to go digging around in, and this seems like one of them. You nod and climb off his bed, slinking back in next to Gary. "Goodnight, Melvin."

He doesn't respond at first, but just when you finally start drifting off you hear a mumbled, "Goodnight."

Standing in line to get in, it occurs to you how _normal_ you feel for once. How you fit in, slotted into this place like one of so many puzzle pieces. Especially with your hoodie on, covering up the worst of the damage on you. You can even see others in similar states, bruised and cut up, the marks shown freely as if it wasn't an issue.

You suppose its not really a surprise that in a room full of nerds, you wouldn't be the only one who gets their ass beat on a regular basis. Most, you're sure, are probably from local bullies, but you don't want to assume anything.

All four of you sign up for the tournament going on, and then head inside to walk around and check out the stalls as you wait for your names to be called and matches to start.

It's gonna take a while. Despite your early arrival, there are still so many people who made it in before you, already taking up each and every play table open. Looking over all the people, it's almost hard to believe that this many people all play card hunter.

"C'mon Matt, quit zoning out." Karen says as she grabs you by the shoulder and drags you back over to your group. You hadn't even noticed you were lagging behind. "We don't wanna lose you!"

"Thanks, Karen." You say, smiling at her. "I'm sorry about that, it's just... There's so many people, ya know?" All strangers to you and each other, but all here just to play their favorite game. It's incredible.

"And if you slow down, you'll get caught up in them, so let's move! I wanna find some new card sleeves." She pulls you close to her and wraps her arm around your shoulder. "Stay close to me, space case."

You snort your amusement as you wrap an arm around her. "Space case? That's new."

"You keep spacin' out. What can I say?" She giggles as she suddenly jerks you closer, causing you to stumble slightly. "See, look at you, stumbling like a drunk."

"Two can play that game." You say and pull her closer to you, laughing as she stumbles to keep her balance. "Gee, when did you get so clumsy?"

"Probably when I decided to stand next to you." She pulls you again and your heads bump together, eliciting a sharp pain and causing the both of you to let go of each other. "Okay, let's stop screwing around."

When you finally stop rubbing your hurting head you look up to see Gary scowling at you. You frown at him. You walk up to him and bump his shoulder. "What's up?"

"Nothing." He doesn't look at you, now scowling at the floor. "It's nice to see you and Karen being friendly."

Oh. You hadn't even thought about that. "Gary," You start, speaking quietly so as not to let Karen overhear, "You know I would never ever try to take Karen from you, right? I wanna get close to her, because she's pretty cool, and she's your girlfriend, but let me promise you this. I have _no_ romantic interest in Karen." It's true as true gets.

"Why not?" He asks, frowning up at you. "She's so beautiful and she likes card hunter and she's so nice and funny and smart and-"

"Gary." You interrupt. "She's just... Not my type." You can't explain farther than that. Gary would be even madder with you if he knew what your type really was. "And even if she was, I value my friendship with you over a relationship any day."

"Really?" He asks, smiling that sweet shy smile.

"Yeah man. Really really." You grin at him and sling your arm over his shoulder, giving him a small side hug. "So stop moping, and let's-"

You're cut off by a loud intercom announcing the next batch of names. The four of you are called up, thankfully not against each other.

Karen seems both excited and disappointed. "I was really hoping to get those sleeves before the match. Ah well, I guess I'll have time later."

The four of you chat contentedly as you walk over and take your places.

You clean shop ridiculously quickly in your first match. Two quick wins and your opponent is angrily mumbling as he puts his cards away. Your next opponent is ready and he poses not much more of a threat. Then it's waiting time. You look through your deck and consider your cards. After a few adjusts it's another match, this time with the slowest moving opponent possible. He's infinitely worse than the first two, and takes at least a minute each time he has to pick a card. It's frustrating.

You're surprised when somebody is suddenly leaning on the back of your chair, looking over your game. Your opponent starts taking even longer, eyes nervously glancing over your shoulder at your uninvited observer.

"C-Can you leave?" Your opponent asks, voice shaky. "It's not fair if you're helping him."

There's a snort. "Yeah, I'm helping him without talking." Melvin's voice states. "Not that I need to, you have no clue what you're doing." Melvin's presence leaves your side and your shaky opponent forfeits.

You find him shortly after your game. The judges told you it'll be a while until your next match so you went wandering. He's on a bench, looking out over the games.

"Your early matches went quick too?" You ask as you sit next to him.

He shrugs. "Easy enough. The early matches always are in any tournament, I find. Today should breeze by for us."

"For us." You note.

"Well, obviously not for the people we're against. We're actually good at this, Matthew." Melvin laughs a little as he smirks like he did every time he belittled Gary. "These chumps are just confidence boosters. Tomorrow's the warm-up. And Sunday? Well, with you in the tournament, maybe Sunday will actually pose a challenge." He stands and stretches his back out a bit. You follow suit and walk by his side as he starts to stroll around the convention room.

You try to hide the blush to your cheeks by staring at the floor. "You really think I'm good enough to be a challenge for you?"

"If you hadn't been pitted against a sloth for your last game, you would've been done quicker than me." Melvin says as he leads the two of you through the booths. "I've been watching you play for a while now, you've got skill." Melvin's face darkens as he looks out over the games. "And you don't have to break the rules to win."

You're both quiet for a moment now. It's a bit awkward and you need to think of a way to change the subject. "How much longer do you think Gary and Karen will be?"

"Didn't see Karen playing, I think she's on the far side of the room. Wouldn't know for her. Passed Gary on the way to you, though. He's still on his second match. It'll probably be a while." His face is more neutral now, which is nice. You're focusing more on the booths you're passing now.

All kinds of fun things. Dice, deck boxes, card sleeves, some art, and so much more. "I was kind of expecting just the tourney." You admit. "Wasn't expecting a whole convention."

"It's a lot bigger than last year, and last year was a lot bigger than the year before. It just keeps growing." He shrugs. "Not bad, at least there's plenty to do in between matches now."

You nod as you both continue exploring the room. You're walking side by side and every so often you bump into him when people try to walk past you. He doesn't say anything about it, even when you press into his side a few more times with nobody around to blame for it.

Melvin is right, the day breezes past. You crush every opponent thrown your way, like a goddamn monster truck speeding over cheap plywood furniture. For the first time in your life you feel... Powerful. In control.

It's intoxicating.

You're bursting with energy at the end of the day, when the matches are over and the boothes are closed, and the only people still hanging around are folks just trying to get in a casual game or two before the room closes. Your friends, however, are quite tired.

"Let's just grab dinner and sleep." Says Gary, sluggishly dragging his feet. He's just barely pulled through today, nearly losing his last game if not for an oversight by his opponent, forgetting the range of his spear attacks are only two, not three.

"I have to actually agree with that." Karen says, usually so bright but now yawning. She did well, fighting hard in each of her matches and pulling out some well-deserved victories. "I never thought Card Hunter could be so... Tiring."

The four of you pile into a nearby diner and quietly shovel down some dinner; occasionally chatting about an interesting match or a questionable card play. Karen takes the opportunity the booth seat presents to press up against Gary. At first, he tries to squirm away, until he's squashed between the wall and Karen. It makes you chuckle. Gary's face flushes.

"Are you two sure you don't want the bed tonight? I have no qualms with the couch." You pester.

"No!" Gary's voice cracks as he blushes with distress and you laugh at him.

Karen laughs with you right before planting a soft kiss on Gary's cheek. The poor boy turns red as a tomato and cups his kissed cheek like the lovestruck teenager he is.

You zone out a little as you consider what it would be like to be able to do the same to Melvin. To press up against him and kiss his cheek. Would he blush like his brother? Would he throw an arm around you and hold you close?

He'd probably call you gay and push you to the floor.

Your energy suddenly drained, you push the little bit of food left on your plate around as you wait for the check to arrive so you can leave.

When the four of you get back, you all fall into your sleeping arrangements. Your energy, apparently not fully drained, comes back with a vengence in a nervous, restless sort of way. You lay there on your back next to Gary, fingers gently drumming against the bed as you stare at the popcorn ceiling.

"You should sleep. You won't play well if you're tired." Melvin's voice is quiet in the night, but it's loud to you.

You sigh and wipe your hand over your face. "You're one to talk. I thought you were tired."

He vocalizes a noncommittal noise. "I'm finding it hard to sleep myself. Do you wanna go somewhere?"

"It's night, there's nowhere to go." You say, but you're already sitting up.

"Don't need an end point, just need the walk. It helps when I'm..." He doesn't finish, trailing off as he shakes his head.

You don't push, not yet, instead getting dressed and following him as he leads you both outside.

You get about a fourth of a mile away in silence before you ask. "Helps when you're what?"

"Nervous. About Card Hunter. About doing well." He says, and his face betrays nothing, but the way he's looking away from you is telling.

"Never thought you got nervous about Card Hunter. You're the best."

He laughs a little. "Easy to act confident, especially in front of Gary, I have to. Sometimes, though..." He swallows. "I know I'm not... Great. As a person." He shakes his head. "So people root against me, they wanna see me lose. Makes me think... Maybe I ought to lose."

You stop in your tracks and look up at him. He notices you stopping so he does as well, turning to face you but still not quite looking at you. "Melvin..." You start.

"You don't have to... Say anything. I've been an ass to you and Gary for a while now. I've been an ass to everyone. I can't keep acting like my group was being unreasonable for kicking me out. I can't keep acting like it's not my fault I can't make friends."

The wind is picking up and you shiver slightly as a harsh breeze blows between the both of you. You want to say something, and you open your mouth to, but then Melvin is speaking again.

"You asked, the other night, why I still live with with my parents? I can't keep a job, can barely pass an interview. I'm no good with customers, always getting complaints, and I've never been to college or trade school, so I have no skills. I have nothing to offer. I'm just..." He shakes his head. "I'm just a jerk."

You walk up to him and gently place a hand on his cheek to tilt his head so he's looking at you. You look him in the eyes, but he's cold. Cut off. Alone.

"All I have is Card Hunter." He says. "I don't have anything or anyone else."

All you want to say is 'You have me,' but it's impossible. The words can't find their way to your mouth. All there is is the sound of the wind howling. Eventually he moves away from you, heading back towards the hotel. You have no choice but to follow him.

At the door you finally gather some courage and place your hand on his shoulder, stopping him from opening the door. "You're my friend, Melvin. I'm happy I got to give you my ticket, and I'm happy to be here playing with you." You grin at him but it can't quite reach your eyes, the solemness in your heart keeping them glistening as if you're about to cry. "I hope that in the finals, I'll get to watch you play. From across the table, as your opponent."

He laughs a little, but still doesn't smile. "I'd hope for that too..." He says, but mumbles the next part so quiet you barely hear it. "But I don't want to lose again."

He opens the door and the both of you take back your spots, and finally you drift off into a fitful sleep.

Day two arrives and the four of you demolish breakfast before rushing into the convention hall. It's a bit less packed than yesterday, the losers not bothering to show up so early now that they've lost the tournament. Games start quick and already you're separated from your group. It's fine though, you'll enjoy your games either way.

It's going good today, the opponents getting better but still falling to the skillful might of your playing. The games take longer now, and you really get to enjoy them. You don't have much time between matches to look around, but you still take a peek now and then and-

Oh God no...

You force your head down low, trying to make yourself as unnoticable as possible. There's something you really didn't think about when you were planning to come here, to the tourney.

Your old friends were huge fans of Card Hunter as well. Of course they'd be here, and very specifically, just a few tables down, is your old best friend. The guy who outted you to the whole school and made sure every single day was an absolute hell for you.

You can not let him see you.

You scrurry away from your table, and scurry directly into Gary. "Matt! Hey, you won your games?" He asks, smiling bright at you as he walks past, in the direction you are definitely not willing to go down.

"Yeah, so-"

"So cool! Come on, you can sit next to me during my next match. I feel bad that none of us are really hanging out here." He offers, making a motion with his hand to have you follow him.

"I'll catch you next time Gary, I gotta go use the bathroom." You jerk your thumb in the general direction of away as you continue walking away.

"Aw, alright." He says and shrugs, before continuing his path.

You make it away and look back just in time to see Gary sitting directly across from the devil himself. There's a feeling in your gut like somebody's driven a sharpened icicle in it. You force yourself to look away and speedwalk as far as you can from that nightmare zone.

You're on edge for the rest of your games. You make stupid mistakes, and it almost costs you dearly as you barely beat your opponents. Karen is sitting next to you, watching you play when you accidently move your wizard, who's currently debuffed with defensiveness, right next to your opponent's warrior.

You sigh heavily and put your head in your hands. You can't be distracted now, but it's impossible to focus. You're so scared. You were feeling so powerful yesterday, but now...

It feels like being back home, the threat of pain on the edge of your brain, refusing to let you be.

Karen gently rubs your back. "Hey, it's alright. I think you can work with this, Matt."

It is a small comfort, but you let it consume you. You close you eyes and clear your mind, focusing on nothing but the feeling of Karen's hand on your back. You breath, deep, in and then out. In, and then out.

In.

You roll well enough to ignore defensiveness and take out the warrior.

Out.

His wizard is easy enough.

In.

He botches his roll and ends up killing his own priest with a last ditch misguided heal.

Out.

The game is over. You won. You tug Karen to you in a crushing hug, pushing your face into her neck as you try to keep hold of this calm.

"Is something wrong?" She whispers the question into your ear.

"I'm scared." You whisper back. You don't want to tell her why, don't want to tell anyone why, don't even want to think about it.

"I'm here for you." She says. You two stay hugging until your names are called once more for the last match of the day. Thankfully, you don't go far. It's comforting to have Karen close by.

Also wonderful, is that Melvin is only one table over. You can see him, staring down at his game with intense concentration. With these two friends close by, it feels alright.

You win game one, and you're about to start game two when you hear it.

"Matt?" That voice. That voice that used to be your world. That was music to you. That you loved.

That destroyed you.

You duck your head but it's useless, he's right behind you, probably ready to stick another knife in your back. Maybe this time literally.

"Matt, I thought I'd never see you again." You dare to look behind yourself at him. That sweet smile that you used to think about all night is right there, but it's wrong now. Off. Evil. "Or rather, I guess I hoped I'd never see you again." And there it is, the maliciousness twisting his smile into an ugly smirk. "Though, it is good to see that someone's still beating you." He points to your fading black eye.

"Get lost, Roy. I'm just trying to play." You say, trying to keep your hands from shaking, but it's impossible. As you shuffle your cards they spill all over the table. You pause to collect them and try to collect yourself as well.

"As if you deserve the right." He says, snarling at you. "Queers like you shouldn't be allowed in tournaments. Probably spreading AIDs on every card you touch."

And there it is, said out loud. You freeze, stiff in your seat. You take a look to your left, Melvin is looking over, a pokerface not showing any emotion. You look to your right, Karen looks like she's just noticed the disturbance and is looking at you questioningly. You look back at Roy.

Gary is right behind him. Right, they were just playing each other.

"Matthew..." Gary starts, a look of confusion on his face. "Are you gay?"

And of course, he focuses on that rather than this jerk bullying you. You take a deep breath. "I'm not." You lie.

"Are you kidding me?" Roy asks, stifling a short laugh. "Guys!" He shouts, and suddenly it's not just him. It's the whole nerdy ass club from your old school. "Look, it's Matt the bitch boy."

They all jeer you as you close your eyes and shuffle your cards, trying desperately to ignore them. You turn to your opponent. "Let's start this game, alright?"

He raises his hands as he looks at you in disgust. "I'm not playin' no gay boy." He says.

"You already did, and you already lost one game to him, so let's hurry this up so you can lose another." You snarl out, no longer caring that you're admitting it.

"Matt!" Gary exclaims, clearly surprised. "I can't believe... I mean... You're..." He trails off, one hand covering his mouth as he stares down at his shoes, not sure what to say or do.

"Take the win, I'm outta here." Your opponent says, gathering his stuff and leaving as quick as he can.

You stand to get away, but that's the wrong choice. There's hands gripping each of your arms. Roy is grinning at you with such hate in his eyes. It hurts.

Karen is up and pushing the guys away as fast as possible, freeing you. "Keep your hands off him, he didn't do anything wrong." She looks at Gary. "Gary, c'mon, this is your best friend. Why are you letting these guys push him around?"

"But he's!" He gestures at you, not really able to say it.

Karen looks disgusted. "And somehow that makes him not your friend anymore?"

"I mean- It's just that- I mean, c'mon- It's...." He rambles, not really able to get a coherent thought out.

"Get out of the way, girl." Roy says. "This has nothing to do with you."

"And this has nothing to do with you." Melvin says, suddenly standing and walking over, putting himself between Roy and you. "Leave him alone; you could get thrown out for harassing another player."

Roy is quiet for a moment as he stares up into Melvin's face. "Hey, I know you." He says. "You're that guy who lost in the finals last year. You fucking cried about it like a bitch, claimed the other guy was cheating. Figures losers like you would stand up for losers like him."

Melvin scowls. His fist clenches like he's about to punch Roy. You reach out and touch his back, and his fist uncurls as he thinks better of it. "Finish your match, Melvin. I'm done for the day, I'll go back to the hotel."

"Already won." He murmurs.

Roy gets a disgusted look on his face before it turns into a smirk. "Found a boyfriend, huh? Fat, way older than you, ugly, and from what I hear, a real jackass. Your parents must have beat the last bit of sense out of you."

You push Melvin out of the way and get right in Roy's face. "Look, you've already ruined my life once, and clearly you don't want to be around me. Why don't you just fuck off and let me be? After this tournaments over, and I've won, we'll never fucking see each other again."

"You? Win? Are you serious? Homos like you could never win a tournament." The smirk gets wider. "In fact, let's bet on it. You win the tourney, I'll leave you alone, won't come to Cardstock ever again. You lose? You never get to come back."

"Deal." You say it without even thinking. You stick your hand out for a shake but he doesn't take it. Instead he finally walks away, taking his posse with him.

Melvin and Karen's hands are on your shoulders as you stare at your feet, fists clenched at your sides. When you finally think you can move again without falling apart, you shrug off their hands and head back to your room.

They're back a little later, and there's obvious distance between Gary and Karen. She won't even look at him, and he won't look at you.

Melvin hands you a to-go box. "Figured you'd be hungry." He says. You are. You stuff the lukewarm chicken tenders and fries in your mouth without a word. The air is tense, nobody is talking. The TV is on, but nobody is watching. You want to cry.

After awkwardly sitting around for a while, it's time for sleep. You crawl into bed. Gary does not.

"I think I'll, uh, take the floor." He says.

"Really, Gary, really?" Karen says, glaring at him. "What's changed from last night? You were fine with it then."

"Well, now I know he's..." He trails off, moving his hands about as if that should explain anything.

"And he was yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and yet nothing happened." Karen says. "Just because you know now doesn't mean anythings changed. He's not gonna jump you like some pervert. This is Matthew we're talking about! Our friend!"

"Yeah maybe..." He mumbles, awkwardly shuffling his feet. "But I mean, I'd just feel more comfortable... On the floor."

"Oh keep the fucking bed!" You half-shout as you climb out of the bed. "I don't even want it. I'm not even tired. I'm... I'm going out." You throw a jacket over your shoulders and slip on your shoes and leave. You are tired, very tired, but you need some time alone to think.

You get back in half an hour, quietly sneaking back into the room so you don't wake anybody. Melvin is there, sitting up in his bed, reading a book with the bedside lamp still on. He looks up at you when you lock the door.

"You can sleep with me tonight." He offers, shutting his book, removing his glasses, and turning off the lamp. You don't say anything, just kick off your shoes and jacket and climb in. Your brain recognizes the innuendo, and even with your sadness you can feel your heart beat a little harder.

"Not worried about the gay kid?" You ask.

"Not even slightly." He says as he gets comfortable.

It's silent for a long while. "Why did you stand up for me?" You eventually ask.

"You said we're friends." He answers. "That's what friends do."

"Not what Gary did."

"He has his head up his ass, he'll get over it. Come crying to you with an apology in a few days, if you let him."

"… Why doesn't it bother you?"

"Because I'm not an idiot." He squirms a little, and looks off to the side. "And because I... I'm guilty of the same thing."

"You're not gay!" You whisper-shout. "That silly little token you made of yourself has hot babes hanging off of it."

"You're right, I'm not gay. I'm bisexual." He sighs. "Never... Never told anybody that before."

"… Well, thanks for telling me. You're coming out went a lot better than mine. I got my nose broke when I first told Roy." You sigh. "I was such an idiot."

"It's not dumb to want to tell your friends."

"It was dumb, I went about it in the stupidest way possible."

"How so?"

"Okay, so... Me and Roy used to be best friends, super close, we'd hang all the time, we'd hug all the time, we slept in the same bed constantly... I thought maybe... I mean, you saw him, he even kinda looks the type so..."

"You asked him out?"

You rub the back of your head sheepishly. "We were hanging in his room, and he was being so sweet, and I was... Dumb, and horny, and I uh... I kneeled on the floor in front of him and offered him a blowjob."

Melvin is quiet. You're quiet.

The fucking universe is quiet.

"I don't know if I should laugh or scold you." Melvin finally says.

"I think I've been scolded enough. I understand that I fucked up."

"… That guy was crazy to say no, though." It's barely a mumble under his breath, you're not sure if you were supposed to hear that. Still, your body reacts, your cock stiffening at the idea that he may not say no if you were to offer.

Not that you should offer, not right now. Not with Karen and Gary in the room. That's rude, and also really weird. So now you're just stuck trying to will your boner away. While in bed with a man you're attracted to.

Yeah, sure, it'll go away. Maybe if you just... Turn away from Melvin. Sleep on your side tonight. He seems to take this as a sign that the conversation is over, and shifts to make himself comfortable. He brushes against you and you shiver. The bed isn't exactly big, but Melvin is. It's hard to not be touching him, so you scoot to the edge of the bed.

"Crap." He mutters. You make a small noise of 'what's up?' "You... Heard what I said, huh?"

"I- I, uh..." You stutter.

"I'm... Sorry," The words don't seem to be easy for him to say, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Not uncomfortable, at least, not in the way you think." You flip around, so that you're facing him, and your erection just barely brushes against him. You can't help the way you hum and shiver from the small contact.

His eyebrows climb all the way up his forehead in a look of shock. "Are you serious?"

You swallow. "Yeah, uh... Sorry?"

"Well, now I'm having the same problem." Your eyes dart down and oh, yup, that's a boner. You force your eyes back up, but not really at his face. That'd be a little too awkward. You're busy staring at the wall just behind him. "… But really? You have the hots... For me?"

"Yup."

"Huh."

It's silent for a bit, and occasionally you dare to look at his face. He looks almost stunned. Since he asked, you figure you might as well, "And you're attracted to me?"

He snorts in amusement. "Of course, haven't you seen yourself?"

"I don't really like... Mirrors." You admit.

"You don't like the bruises." His eyebrows furrow. "They'll heal."

"Not... Everything... Will heal." There's a few marks that seem to be permanent. You hate them. Signs of your failure to be normal, your failure to be good enough.

It's silent then. You don't have an erection anymore.

You slip into sleep.

The next day you all pick at your breakfasts in silence before heading to the tournament. Gary doesn't really need to be there, having lost yesterday, and he quickly loses the rest of your group, heading into the crowd and disappearing.

Karen stays stuck to your side, her arm wrapped around your shoulder for comfort, but with the look on her face, the distinct downturn of her lips and disappointment in her eyes, you think she's the one who needs comfort. Soon enough, though, it's time for games.

It's a bigger deal today, less matches than usual but each one meaning more. You're not distracted today like you were yesterday, the worst has already happened. There's crowds around each table, people wanting to see the 'pros' playing at their best.

Yeah, you're not distracted. In fact, you're pretty pumped. It's not the sort of happy energy you usually feel when playing, thinking hard for the sake of loving the strategy behind each move, but instead an intense concentration. A determination. You won't lose. You can't.

You never thought of yourself as a proud person, but if there was any time to fight for what little pride you've got left, this is it.

At a point it becomes easy to block out the crowd, even when they're murmuring about the 'outburst' yesterday and your apparent 'sexual deviancy'. You've heard it all before. For a while, you even forget there are people around, until a soft hand is on your shoulder.

"You're doing great." Karen says, smiling even though you can see a certain sadness in her eyes.

"Lost?" You guess. You know that sad look, the disappointment of making it so far only to crash at the end. It's a miserable, bitter feeling.

"Happens. I was hoping to make it to the end, but..." She shrugs and grins at you. "It'll be fun watching you play."

You nod and continue on in your games.

At some point you become aware of several other figures watching you. Old friends, and one current friend. At least, you hope he's still a current friend. You never look directly at Gary, you don't acknowledge him, but you are aware he's there. Watching you play. You hope he's rooting for you. As it is, he seems to be sort of blankly watching, but when you crush your current opponent in a one-sided victory, you're pretty sure you see him smile, just a little bit.

It gets down to the semi-finals, and who are you sitting across but Roy? Fitting.

"Can't believe you made it this far." He says with a not-so-friendly smile. "Must have been some real losers that they set you up against."

"Actually only one really, the one I'm against now." You smile right back at him, showing just as much teeth and hoping you look just as cruel as him.

"We'll see how that goes. This isn't like our little training games from before."

"Ah, you mean all those games I used to win against you?"

That wipes the smile from his face. "Like I said, it won't be like those. I've gotten better. After you left I became the champ of the Card Hunter club."

"I'm specifically hearing an 'after I left'. Guess you couldn't make the spot before hand for some reason. Maybe we'll figure out why today." You chuckle and you actually feel... Good. This is going to be a game you'll enjoy.

He still plays like he used to, but you will admit he's gotten better. The headstrong rush style he always favored has been refined to a deadly 'hit first, hit hard' sort of game. Your choices are either a strong defense, or an even stronger offence.

You'd take more pleasure out of beating him at his own game.

You lose the first round getting used to his playstyle, to massive cheers from the crowd. Then you win the second round to massive cheers from Karen and the half of the crowd who haven't been listening to the rumors.

The third round is serious. Your priest is already out, leaving you vulnerable to all the damage he's throwing your way, but you've managed to take out his warrior, who he leans on to do the most of his damage. Of course, you won't underestimate a fire wizard and a battle priest.

"You won't win by running." He remarks when you pull your wizard around the corner, holing him up while you wait for the turn to end to get more cards. "You never did. All it does is make you look like a coward."

"Strategical retreat." You mutter, but you know he's not talking about the game. "You wouldn't know a thing about strategy though. You've never been good at planning."

"I'm better at doing." As he brings your warrior down to one hp. "You could never do anything. Helpless little Matt, always running from what hurt him." He places his priest just around the corner of your wizard, waiting for you to move him. "But running can't help when there will always be people who want to hurt you wherever you go. You ran from school, from home, from me, and now you have nowhere left to run. Whatcha gonna do now that you're cornered?"

"Same thing as always. Stand my ground, take my hits," You take out his wizard with a lunging bash he wasn't expecting. "And hit back as hard as I can. You always got people to gang up on me, never saw how much I could hit back in a fair fight. It's easy to see who the real coward is."

"You deserved it, the way you turned out to be such a shitty friend." He grits his teeth and takes out your warrior. You move your wizard out of hiding and he grins as he nimble strikes your wizard.

Of course, not many people expect armor on a wizard. "I was a shitty friend? Even before you outted me you were a jerk. You always took my desert without asking every damn lunch. You complained to me endlessly about every little annoyance in your life, but never once listened to me whenever I wanted to talk. You'd always make me take the blame whenever we broke shit roughhousing, even though you knew I'd get beat for it. Speaking of which, I don't think you ever even cared my parents beat me, not even when I showed you shit like this." You lift your shirt to expose a thick scar on your abdomen, years old yet it still hurt sometimes. You drop the shirt back down. "I may have tried to get in your pants, but I was never a shitty friend like you." And with that, and a mighty spark, he's done.

The fury on his face is so satisfying you can't help your grin, even as the crowd confusedly applauds and you hear whispers like "What'd he say about getting in his pants?" and "Did you see that scar? Holy shit."

Karen is on you in an instant, hugging you so tight you're not sure you'll ever be able to breath again. Gary approaches from behind her, a guilty smile on his face.

"Congratulations." He says, and though he looks uncomfortable, he also looks sincere. "I'm sorry about... Let's just go with like the past 24 hours. I hope you can still consider me a friend."

Karen pulls away to look at him with uncertainty, but you smile at him and hold your arms out. "Only if you're willing to give this gay boy a hug." He steps forward and gives you a brief hug. You can forgive him and his stupidity. You've done it before, and you'll probably do it again. You love Gary, even if he can be a dumb motherfucker sometimes.

"Well isn't that touching." Roy says and then pretends to gag.

"Hey, I won. That means you leave me alone, and you never come to Cardstock again." You say as you point at him.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "The agreement was if you won the tourney I'd leave you alone, not if you won against me. And if you lose the tourney... You never get to come back. Maybe you should've listened better." He shrugs and grins.

Across the crowd you can hear reluctant clapping. Melvin must have won his match, to the disappointment of the people watching him.

"Well look who won." Roy says. "Your boyfriend. Wonder if he values you or the trophy more." Roy leans in to whisper. "My money is on the trophy."

You and Melvin are quickly shoved to a table in the middle of the whole convention room, for everyone to watch your match.

You stare at each other quietly for a tense moment. "I know about your bet-" Melvin starts.

"Don't you dare go easy on me because of it. If I win, I want it to be earned." You state.

There's something almost like a smile on Melvin's face. "Wasn't planning on going easy. Just wanted to let you know."

Your cards are drawn and before you take your first move you look up at Melvin and really study his face. He looks intense, focused. You smile. This is exactly what you wanted, even if there's an enourmous pressure on you, you're glad to be up against him in the end.

It's a long, hard fought battle. You take round one, he takes round two, but in the end you take round three. The crowd cheers, excited by the game even though they didn't care for the competitors.

The disappointment that flashes through Melvin's eyes is intense, but he still smiles at you. He opens his mouth to say something but with adrenaline pulsing through your veins and the excitement of victory clouding your brain, you interrupt him by grabbing him by the front of the shirt and pull him across the table to kiss him.

Most of the crowd stops cheering at that but you don't give a shit. You distinctly hear Gary shout "What?!" and you grin dopily as you let go of Melvin and he sits back in his chair, staring wide-eyed at you.

"Usually people shake hands after games." He says, breathless and stunned.

"I'll be shaking something tonight!" You announce, to the horror of the crowd. One of the tourney judges grabs you by the arm, pulls you up, and shoves a trophy in your face before you can say anything else horribly innapropriate.

"And the fourth annual Cardstock tournament winner is Matthew M!" He announces, and the crowd sort of half-claps, but at least no one is booing. You look out at the sea of people, glad to spot Roy and your old friends heading to the door, heads hung in anger or shame or whatever you don't really care. Fuck those guys.

Your eyes are then drawn to Karen, clapping and cheering for you loudly, and next to her a still stunned Gary, who just has his hands on his head, looking for all the world like someone just chucked his deck into lava.

And then of course, you look to Melvin, smiling despite his defeat in probably the only show of good sportsmanship he's ever done. There's a tint of blush to his cheeks, which only gets worse when you give him a wink.

Huh, looks like heavy blushing is a familial trait.

The convention wraps up pretty quickly after that, and you and your friends head to the diner for a celebration dinner. Gary won't look at you or Melvin, but it seems like him and Karen are back together. You're glad.

You get yourself a big banana split for desert, and it's when you're shoving a big bite of banana in your mouth and wiggling your eyebrows at Melvin that finally Gary speaks up.

"So this is a real thing? You're actually... With... My brother?!" Gary asks you, and by the way he stresses the word 'with' you can tell he wanted to say fucking, but also really did NOT want to say fucking.

"Well, I really hope so." You say, looking at Melvin's flushed face. He may not have pushed you away during the kiss, but he never said anything confirming a relationship.

"Yeah." He confirms, giving you a peck on the cheek. "We're together." You can't help the way your face lights up, just like you're sure Gary can't help the way his face looks like somebody spit in his milkshake. "Speaking of which, did you think about my proposal at all?" He asks you.

Gary sputters and chokes. "You guys are getting married?!"

"No, he means the proposal of me moving in. And yes, I'm gonna." It will be so nice, to finally live without fear.

"That's kinda fast, don't you think?" Gary asks.

"Relax, it's just to get away from my parents." You say. Though, living with the two of them will be a huge bonus, and maybe you'll end up sleeping in Melvin's bed rather than the basement.

The mention of your parents bring with it silence. Gary pokes at his mac n cheese for a while befor asking. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Didn't tell anyone. Didn't want to burden you with that. After all, nothin' you could do." You shrug.

"But... I mean... I'm sorry that I didn't notice. I should've."

"You wouldn't notice a fly until the swatter hit your nose." You remark, chuckling a bit to try and break the tension. "It doesn't matter anymore. I'm never gonna see them again."

"Yeah, but-"

"Look, today is a good day. I don't wanna talk about them. I don't wanna think about them for the rest of my life if I can manage it. Let's enjoy ourselves, c'mon." You raise your glass. "To Card Hunter!"

They all lift their glasses and proclaim "To Card Hunter!" Before clinking with you, and you all take a swig of soda. Karen lets out a loud burp that has the rest of you chuckling, and just like that, the tension is broken.

Despite your earlier proclamation to 'shake something' tonight, nothing happens when you all pile back in to the hotel for one last night. You're all tired, and you have to admit you feel way too exhausted physically and emotionally to be fooling around.

"When we get home, though." You promise Melvin with a wink. "Something will be shaken. Or blown, whatever." You shrug.

Gary buries his head under a pillow and groans miserably. Melvin just flushes and mumbles something sounding like, "Sounds good." As he faces the wall to sleep.

"You sure about this?" Melvin asks, hands on your shoulders to push you away from kissing him senseless like you were planning. "I mean, we just had our first kiss yesterday, and I've been driving all day, and I know that emotions are running kinda high, but..."

"I'm good with it." You say, making yourself comfortable on Melvin's bed as you pull your shirt off. There's a lot of damage on you but Melvin should be expecting it. You still feel pretty self-conscious about it as Melvin stares openly at your scars. "But if you wanna slow down, we can."

"Matt, I'm a 29 year old virgin, there is no part of me that wants to slow down."

You pause briefly. You knew he was older but you didn't guess by over a decade.

"Yeah," He says. "29. I know. If you have a problem with that-"

"No problem with that." You say as you grab him to sit him on the bed and climb in his lap. "The only problem I have with you is that your clothes are still on." You kiss him forcefully, feeling him up over his shirt. He's big and soft, no surprise there.

Once again, he pushes you away. "Seriously, you don't have to feel obligated. We've only been together a day."

"Yeah, well, I've known you for ten months." You say, sliding down to your knees in front of him. "And I've wanted to blow you for like... At least seven of those months."

"Jesus." He mumbles under his breath. You make an attempt at unbuttoning his pants and it's a pretty poor attempt with how your hands are shaking from nerves and excitement. He sighs. "Come back up here." He pulls you up. "Let me take off my own clothes."

He stands and, with hesitation, starts undressing.

He's a big guy, tall and fat, and his gut is striped with stretch marks. There's hair on his chest and stomach, wiry and sparse. His skin is spotted with moles and freckles, not clustered or in any clear pattern, just dotted around at random.

He takes off his pants and, reluctantly, his underwear and his gut hangs low, almost covering his soft cock. It doesn't look terribly big, but it is flaccid right now, and if there's anything you remember from sex ed, it's that the average American man is a grower, not a shower.

He seems nervous and awkward, scratching the back of his neck as he looks at the floor. "So, uh, yeah... This is it." He says and shrugs.

"You're very handsome." You compliment as you smile and reach your hands out. You grab his gut and slowly start petting it, feeling the softness of his stretch marks, the texture of his body hair, the soft weight of it all. You push your face into it, enjoying the warmth of it.

"Yeah, you say that while playing with my fat, alright..." He mutters.

"I like it." You say. "I like you." You grin and take a step back to remove your own pants and underwear. "Now we match."

He's looking you up and down, taking you all in. You're a scrawny little thing, coated in scars and mostly fading bruises, with a slightly smaller than average cock thats starting to perk up in interest.

He picks a particularly thick scar to lightly press his fingers against. "And you complained that I grabbed your fat." You say and chuckle.

"There's so many." He says, looking rather displeased. "How did these even happen?"

"Ah, the story I'm supposed to say for that one is I fell on a kitchen knife. I was so embarrassed, I didn't bother going to the hospital, just stitched it up myself. That's why it looks... Crappy." It's the lie your parents told you to tell. You don't really feel like telling the real story.

"Story you're supposed to say, huh?" His fingers trail away to a different scar. "Suppose you have a lot of stories, but I don't want to hear those."

You make a noise of discomfort. That one was still kind of new. He takes the hint and moves to the next scar. "Good, 'cuz I don't feel like telling them." You chub has wilted away. Clearly he's more interested in prodding at your painful memories than sleeping with you. "And here I was thinking you were trying to be gentlemanly." You say, with maybe just a bit of annoyance to your voice.

"Huh?"

"I thought you were trying to get us to go slow for my sake, but it seems you're just... Not attracted to me, not now that you've seen... This whole mess." You gesture to your torso.

"I am." He says, his voice coming out a bit squeakier than you've ever heard it, he coughs a little and tries again. "I am." He sounds much more confident. "You're really cute, but it's just... You look so hurt."

"Well, a lot of these are permanent, so if you aren't attracted to me because I look hurt, that's not something that's gonna be changing, so..."

"It doesn't make me not attracted to you! It's just... I don't want to hurt you."

"Well, unless you're about to stick a knife in me or break out the belt, I don't think you're gonna hurt me." And then it's quiet for an awful moment as he looks at you with something like pity. "I don't want your pity."

"What do you want from me?" He really does seem uncertain.

"Your dick." To put it bluntly.

"Is that all?" He sounds... Disappointed.

You snort. "Of course not, I want an actual relationship, with all the kissing and hugging and other shit that comes with it. Right now, though," You gently guide him back back onto the bed. "Dick." You kneel in front of him.

"Well, I guess this can count as your prize for winning, huh?" He chuckles slightly nervously.

"If this is the prize, I'll win every Card Hunter tournament I can find." You nuzzle his soft junk, breathing in the musky scent. It twitches and starts to harden and you turn your face to kiss his inner thighs, hands coming up to fondle him and get him hard.

He's still a little shy, it seems, his legs twitching inwards like he wants to close them, but still he sits there, panting. His hands are nervously clenching the sheets and he's staring down at you like he's not really sure what he should be doing.

"Relax." You say, stroking him until he's hard in your hand, and yep, a grower like you thought. You're not so good with measurements but it's seems about average. You're glad, that should make this easier. You take one of his hands with your free one and put in on your head. "Here, feel free to pull me off if I'm doing horribly. I'm new to this, so... Just tell me what feels good?" You grin a little awkwardly at him before returning your attention to the dick in front of you.

You grip it firmly and finally lean forward to lick the head. He makes a squeaky wheeze and you can't help but snort a small laugh at it. He pulls your hair for laughing at him, but not too harshly. It's a little annoying, and it forces you to look up at his cherry red face scowling down at you.

"Don't laugh while you're going down on me." He scolds, looking very self-conscious.

"Sorry, I'll try to control myself." You finish your little giggle and his hold on your hair gentles so you can get back to the task at hand, which is soon to become the task at mouth.

You pull back his foreskin and wrap your lips around the head, sucking and swirling your tongue around it. It feels so nice in your mouth, soft slick skin gently rubbing your lips as you start to bob, taking in a little more each time. The weight and shape in your mouth feels good, you pause for just a moment to really experience it. The impatient hum you get from him gets you moving again.

That's another thing, the sounds. Melvin is vocal, but his noises are quiet. Gasping and making little choked sounds, as if he wants to keep the volume down but just can't stop himself. The hand in your hair is weakly petting you, the fingers twitching. You chance looking up at him, away from your work, and see his eyes screwed shut, mouth twisted up as he's hunching over you.

It's really nice to be overwhelming him so.

You redouble your efforts, bobbing faster and pressing your tongue against him, swiping it across the tip every so often. You're rewarded with small tastes of a bitter fluid that maybe isn't great, but definitely isn't the worst thing ever. His cock twitches each time, and you really like that. The natural response of his body to your stimulation is such a definite tell that he's enjoying this, and you find one of your hands trailing down to stroke yourself.

You whine and hum, not really able to control your own sounds, and they're muffled and somehow that makes it a lot hotter. Your other hand goes to cling onto his hip, grounding yourself as you let yourself get lost in the sensation of fucking your hand and sucking Melvin's cock.

When he suddenly presses against the back of your head, forcing his cock as far into your mouth as you can take, it's a bit of a surprise, but definitely not an unpleasant one. He lets out a strained series of half-formed sounds and then there's a lot more of that bitter fluid pumping into your mouth. When he finally lets you go and you pull back, most of that cum and a whole lotta drool are spilling out of your mouth as you pant to try and regain your air. It's spreading down your chin and as you look down to focus on jerking yourself, it pours out on your stomach and cock, making things a whole lot messier in a way that's bizarrely hot.

You swallow the bit that's left just before your body tenses up and you cum all over yourself, furthering the mess. When you finally open your eyes – when had you closed them? – Melvin is staring at you appreciately.

"You look really good like that." He says. You just grin back at him.

"Well then, hopefully I can look like this often." He blushes deeply as you chuckle. He helps pull you up so you can lie on the bed next to him, uncaring for the mess on your skin. You cuddle into his side and sigh contentedly.

Finally, it feels like everything is gonna work out fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Man I hate that shitty summary I wrote. Lol.


End file.
